Curiosity is definitely going to get me dead one of these days. Probably real soon.

I'm Gin Blanco.

You might know me as the Spider, the most feared assassin in the South. I’m retired now, but trouble still has a way of finding me. Like the other day when two punks tried to rob my popular barbecue joint, the Pork Pit. Then there was the barrage of gunfire on the restaurant. Only, for once, those kill shots weren’t aimed at me. They were meant for Violet Fox. Ever since I agreed to help Violet and her grandfather protect their property from an evil coalmining tycoon, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really retired. So is Detective Donovan Caine. The only honest cop in Ashland is having a real hard time reconciling his attraction to me with his Boy Scout mentality. And I can barely keep my hands off his sexy body. What can I say? I’m a Stone elemental with a little Ice magic thrown in, but my heart isn’t made of solid rock. Luckily, Gin Blanco always gets her man . . . dead or alive.

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About the Author

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, Venom, Tangled Threads, Spider’s Revenge, By a Thread, Widow’s Web, Deadly Sting, Heart of Venom, The Spider, Poison Promise, and Black Widow, along with the e-shorts Thread of Death, Parlor Tricks, and Kiss of Venom, are the other titles in her red-hot Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. Jennifer is also the author of the Black Blade and Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series and the Bigtime paranormal romance series. For more on Jennifer and her books, visit JenniferEstep.com and @Jennifer_Estep.

Most helpful customer reviews

WEB OF LIES is the second novel in Jennifer Estep’s Urban Fantasy series Elemental Assassin focusing on the Elemental Assassin for hire –The Spider. Gin Blanco is the recently retired assassin, who begrudgingly stepped away from the profession for which she has been trained for over a decade. But a vendetta against a friend of her one-time mentor brings Gin out of retirement and once again onto the front lines of murder, mayhem and the mob. Only this time, several people are hoping The Spider dies, including a one-time lover who cannot get past-the past.

As Gin’s mentor, Fletcher Lane aka the Tin Man, had trained her well, but following his murder, Gin had decided to retire. Fletcher had raised Gin after her family was murdered by a Fire Elemental, and when he died, a few secrets about her past died with him. Running the Pork Pit in the corrupt town of Ashland kept Gin busy but an attempted robbery by the son of mob lawyer Jonah McAllister once again put Gin in the eye of the storm. And to complicate matters, both Jonah and his son would just as soon see Gin dead then press charges against the delinquent male.

Meanwhile a young woman comes looking for the Tin Man-that name was only known by those who associated with the assassin and who ever was looking for the man did not know he was dead. But when shots are fired into the Pork Pit, Gin goes hunting for who ever was aiming at the café. Only this time is wasn’t at Gin but at the young woman at the counter. Tobias Dawson was sending a message to Fletcher’s old friend Warren Fox and his granddaughter was the target. Tobias wanted his land.

I read every book in the series and if it seems they spend a lot of time explaining the past it is because more is reveled in every book until by the end we finally understand Gins past and and motivations. The book is full of excitement while Gin tries to save a family store owned by Violet Fox and and her Grand father. Little does Gin know she has bitten off a bit more than she can chew going up against the miner Dawson.Will Gin finally convinceDetective Donovan Caine (the last honest cop) to love her even as an assassin? You must read to find out and watch Gin grow into her power.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)

Amazon.com:
123 reviews

53 of 62 people found the following review helpful

apparently I'm the black sheepJune 5 2010

By
Neker
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback

I really enjoyed the first book, but I didn't think this one was as well done. I just glanced over the previous reviewer's remarks and I know I'm going to be the odd man out here, but I found myself scanning this book more than reading it. I thought there was way too much exposition (probably about 1/2 of the book could be considered a review of the previous novel). How many times did the heroine have to point out to us that she was with Fletcher for 17 years. That she was an assassin for 17 years? That her family died 17 years ago? She must have restated her family's death at least 10 times. She described her scars on her hand (circle with 8 lines, by the way it means patience) over and over. There were soooo many things that were repeated. Even little things. Did she have to refer to her restaurant as her "Gin joint" everytime she talked about it? Then, everytime Det. Caine showed up, there was the corney, "mmmm."

I was becoming more and more annoyed with the characters the more I read the story. Det. Caine became a wussy bore. I know the reason why she made him so unlikable, but it totally ruined the character of Gin, too. What reader want to see the heroine throw herself on a man that doesn't want her, again, over and over.

If you took out the repetition in the story it would probably have cut 2/3 of the book. I think that is a fair assessment of how much room the actual storyline (plot) took.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

Web of Lies starts out fast, furious, and fun.May 21 2010

By
Bookaholics Reviewer
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Web of Lies by Jennifer EstepUrban Fantasy- May 25th, 20105 stars

Web of Lies starts out fast, furious, and fun. This book utterly delighted me with its wonderful cast of characters and cool urban landscape filled with: power, danger and corruption. Although it helps to have read the previous book in this series I feel that new readers will still be able to start with this book although I would highly recommend reading the first just for the added enjoyment! The main character Gin holds nothing back as she risks her life and her heart for those she cares about and for those she feels under appreciated. As a heroine Gin has her own sense of morality and prefers being solo but always seems to find herself with a colorful cast of characters that made this 2nd book well worth the wait. But because this is the 2nd book in the proposed 5 book series, it is a transitional book and the ending is left somewhat uncertain.

Gin was the infamous Spider, the most dangerous and ruthless assassin for hire. In her last assignment her mentor was murdered and she was framed for his death. Gin was able to take her revenge for his murder and prove her innocence. At the end of the book 1 (Spider's Bite), Gin decides to retire, but we find in Web of Lies that she was not meant for inaction because trouble has a way of finding her.

Now the new owner of the Pork Pit restaurant, Gin has just started her early retirement. But her restaurant is robbed by a pair of young hoodlums. One with powerful connections that could mean big danger for her! Her life is further complicated when an old friend of her mentor asks for protection from an unscrupulous dwarf who wants their land.

I especially liked this book because it delved more into Gin's past. This 2nd book is more emotional than the previous book. This is largely due to the death of Gin's mentor, Fletcher. Not only does she miss his solid presence but Gin has inherited his restaurant and a mysterious picture of a sister she thought murdered. This book also includes important flashbacks that include Gin's early years with Fletcher and his son Finn. Gin is also uncertain if she should look for her sister and if she should pursue a relationship with the super uptight but sexy cop Donovan. To complicate matters further, another man is trying to worm his way into her affections.

I felt the 2nd book was as amazing as the first, it just focuses in a different area. In the first book I loved the non-stop action as Gin tries to discover the mystery behind her set up and find revenge for her mentor's death. In this book she is trying to settle into retirement but she finds trouble from all sides. As a transition book it leaves many questions unanswered. I felt this story brought a great depth to Gin and I admired the heroine even more. (As a nosy reader I love finding out more about characters I love and what shaped them into the person they are today!) Jennifer Estep does not give Gin the easy way out of her difficulties and as Gin struggles to make sense and find her own justice I felt part of the journey. Usually I like to have a book wrap up most of the loose ends but in this case I completely happy to have a 5 book series because I feel this main characters deserves it and I don't want to let go of her too soon! This series has a lot of space to expand, and each book brings more intriguing characters that add to a crew of friends that make this series all the more lively.

This series is not to be missed! If only for the loveable and Interesting characters. I especially enjoyed the dwarves Jo-Jo and Sophia and the charming and irreverent Finn. I can't get enough of this series!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

Treat the reader like an adultApril 14 2011

By
Bobbee
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback
Verified Purchase

I will begin by saying I actually like the main character. She is fairly well developed. However, this writer treats the reader like an idiot, as if we have the retention capacity of a goldfish. She repeats information over and over and over. I'm not sure if she is just trying to fill pages or what but I don't need a full description of characters and elemental magic every chapter. I GOT IT the first time. Must you describe Mab Monroe in minute detail every time we see her even if we saw her 2 pages ago???

Also, her obsession with repeating phrases over and over and over. And, worse even than that, her obsession with the eyes. Everyone's eyes when they meet are "gray on gold" or "gray on violet" or whatever on whatever. She says this a zillion times. It was stupid the first time and doesn't get better with age. They are called mother's darlings and are supposed to be eliminated in the editing process.

I read the first three books in this series hoping she would improve. I love to find a good series and try to give the author a couple books to get in the groove, but book three just proved identical to 1 and 2 and I cannot take her ridiculous, repetitious, overbearing writing style any more.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

Plot can't overcome the writingAug. 8 2010

By
Amazon Customer
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Kindle Edition
Verified Purchase

The premise of this series - a "heroine" who is an assassin (albeit retired), a Robin Hood who lends her deadly skills to aid the downtrodden - is somewhat interesting if morally ambigious. Additionally, there is a mystery from said heroine's past that I'm interested in seeing resolved. However, I don't know if that interest is enough to combat the negatives.

Ms. Estep expends a great deal of energy recapping the characters and events from the first book in this series. (From the preview I read of book 3, the same thing occurs in that book as well.) As someone who read the first book, this repitition was unnecessary and boring.

I also found much of the writing to be repetitive and in some cases, inapt as well as unnecessary. How many times do we need to be told that Gin keeps five silverstone knives on her person at all times, or that Gin's rune is a spiderweb which is embedded in her palms?

Much as I'd like to see if Mab Monroe gets her comeuppance and where sister Bria has been, I'm not sure I'll be able to muddle through the next installment in this series.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Not as Good as Book 1 or 3, but Not UnreadableOct. 27 2010

By
Liz Grant
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback

I very much enjoyed the first book in this series, Spider's Bite. But, some of the problems I had with the first book were only amplified in this sequel, and there were a few new problems as well. Estep has a habit of repeating little segments of text throughout the book. Sometimes it is Gin's thoughts, sometimes it is the way something is described. This was slightly annoying in the first book. By the second book it made me physically roll my eyes when I read about Gin's hand scars or the way Donovan smells. I get it. I have a memory. I can recall how he smells from 30 pages ago when you last described it in the exact same words. This repetition problem was only amplified in Web of Lies, as now there was room for repetition of the last book - whole segments were lifted from Book 1 and retold in Book 2. Like, when we visit Jo Jo's salon in book 2, it is described with just as much page space as it was in Book 1. I suppose Estep did this so you did not have to read Book 1 to read this one, but if you had read Book 1, it was almost as though you were being punished for it by having to read it again. The other major repetition is with the folder Fletcher leaves for Gin at the end of Book 1. She had the EXACT same conversation about it with 2 different characters, and then had an internal debate about it another 2 times. It felt like page filler.

My other major problem with this book was that I started to loathe Donovan, and question Gin's sanity for starting to fall for him. I am not sure where the warm fuzzy feelings on her part came from, as Donovan is never nice to her, seems to overtly show her his disdain for everything but her body, and over the course of 2 books we are witness to what I consider to be no scenes in which they interact in a way that makes me think there is any relationship there. So, I simply could not get emotionally invested in their relationship. But, what kept me from chucking this series is the introduction of another love interest, one that is intriguing and has the potential to get me emotionally involved in the next book, Venom - something that simply did not happen in Web of Lies. So, with that glimmer of hope, I will not quit the series... yet.